Federico obtained a Bachelor's degree in Biology from the University of Milan in 2013. He then completed his Master's studies in cellular and molecular biology from the University of Milan in 2015, conducting his thesis research at ETH Zurich. In 2019, Federico earned his PhD in Molecular Life Sciences from the University of Zurich, where he conducted basic research investigating on the molecular interplay between the innate immune system and cell growth. Driven by his broad interests, Federico pursued further studies in International Relations at the University of London, obtaining his graduate diploma in 2018. During his time as a PhD candidate, he founded Culturico in 2018, a non-profit, non-partisan, non-ideological cultural and scientific media platform, which aims at fighting misinformation and innovate journalism.
Since 2020, Federico is a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute of Biomedical Ethics and History of Medicine (IBME), University of Zurich. Federico is dedicated to contributing to the ongoing effort to better prepare for and manage future global health challenges. His primary areas of interest and expertise include disinformation and infodemic management. With a focus on developing evidence-based strategies to effectively manage information during times of crisis, Federico is passionate about addressing the ethics of infodemics and reducing the spread of false information. He is currently serving as a rapporteur for the World Health Organization panel on ethical considerations in social listening and infodemic management. He is also a member of the Digital Society Initiative Health (DSI Health) and has published his research in numerous prestigious peer-reviewed journals, including BMJ Global Health, the Journal of Medical Ethics, JMIR, Science Advances, The American Journal of Bioethics, and many more. His research has been featured in prestigious media outlets like The Times, The Verge, El Pais, Fast Company, MIT Technology Review, Süddeutsche Zeitung, and many more.
Research Interests
Disinformation, misinformation, infodemic management, pandemic preparedness, information literacy, information ethics, global health ethics, public health ethics, vaccine hesitancy
Publications
ZORA Publication List
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Publications
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2025
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Journal Article
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On Religious Influence in Bioethics: The Limits of Pluriversalism. Bioethics:Epub ahead of print.
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Emotional prompting amplifies disinformation generation in AI large language models. Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence, 8:1543603.
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2024
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Journal Article
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Digital Democracy and Emergency Preparedness: Engaging the Public in Public Health. International Journal of Public Health, 69:1608004.
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The Dual Nature of AI in Information Dissemination: Ethical Considerations. JMIR AI, 3:e53505.
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Ethical Considerations in Infodemic Management: Systematic Scoping Review. JMIR Infodemiology, 4:e56307.
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Disruptive Technologies and Open Science: How Open Should Open Science Be? A ‘Third Bioethics’ Ethical Framework. Science and Engineering Ethics, 30(4):36.
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Beyond Trade-Offs: Autonomy, Effectiveness, Fairness, and Normativity in Risk and Crisis Communication. The American Journal of Bioethics, 24(6):W2-W5.
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The PHERCC Matrix. An Ethical Framework for Planning, Governing, and Evaluating Risk and Crisis Communication in the Context of Public Health Emergencies. The American Journal of Bioethics, 24(4):67-82.
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2023
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Journal Article
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Exploring the role of AI in classifying, analyzing, and generating case reports on assisted suicide cases: feasibility and ethical implications. Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence, 6:1328865.
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Women’s experiences with non-invasive prenatal testing in Switzerland: a qualitative analysis. BMC Medical Ethics, 24(1):85.
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AI model GPT-3 (dis)informs us better than humans. Science Advances, 9(26):eadh1850.
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‘VaxTax’: a follow-up proposal for a global vaccine pandemic response fund. Journal of Medical Ethics, 49(3):160-164.
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Charity or empowerment? The role of COVAX for low and middle‐income countries. Developing World Bioethics, 23(1):59-66.
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2022
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Journal Article
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How to counter the anti-vaccine rhetoric: Filling information voids and building resilience. Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics, 18(6):2095825.
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Economic sanctions, healthcare and the right to health. BMJ Global Health, 7(7):e009486.
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Concerns Around Opposition to the Green Pass in Italy: Social Listening Analysis by Using a Mixed Methods Approach. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 24(2):e34385.
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Opinion: Dismantling Anti-vaccine Rhetoric on Social Media. The Scientist, (1):69499.
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2021
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Journal Article
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Engineering Minds? Ethical Considerations on Biotechnological Approaches to Mental Health, Well-Being, and Human Flourishing. Trends in Biotechnology, 39(11):1111-1113.
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The anti-vaccination infodemic on social media: A behavioral analysis. PLoS ONE, 16(3):e0247642.
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